18. Clash of Stone and Steel #3
He and Talyn had spoken little the rest of the ride, and they were both quiet now as they sat by the fire eating their dinner. They’d camped by a stream and had managed to drive a fish into a shallow part where it got trapped among the rocks. Talyn had made a fire while he prepared it.
Bressen had sent him another message leaf while he cooked, but he hadn’t bothered to respond this time, only crumpled it up and tossed it into the flames.
He knew Bressen was furious with him for not bringing the assassin back, but something told him he was doing the right thing, and he knew Bressen would never understand that.
Samhail kept half an eye on Talyn the entire time. He had several weapons on him, including his two swords, a few small knives, and Fred, who he’d reclaimed. Despite her promise not to escape, he didn’t think her word would mean much if she got her hands on something sharp.
The situation in his pants hadn’t gotten any better either.
If anything, the blood pumping through his veins as he stayed alert and ready to fight only made things worse.
The ever-present danger Talyn posed, his three fights with her, and his last few days of celibacy were making things extremely uncomfortable for him at the moment.
He went off into the woods to relieve himself in more ways than one after Talyn returned from her own trip into the trees. After emptying his bladder, he spit on his hand, wrapped it around his cock, and stroked himself hard and quick, not wanting to leave her unattended for too long.
He hadn’t gone far into the woods, but it was far enough he didn’t think Talyn could hear him, although he could still see her.
He kept his eyes on her as he imagined what she would feel like beneath him while he pushed inside her, the sounds she’d make, and how she might taste if he got his tongue between her legs.
After that, he’d only needed a few strokes before he shot milky ropes of his seed onto the side of a tree.
“Which side of the fire do you want?” Talyn asked as he returned.
She had one of the blankets they’d bought draped over her arm, and she surveyed the ground around the fire like she was trying to decide which patch of grass would be most comfortable.
“You choose,” he said.
Talyn looked over the ground once more, then laid out her blanket and climbed under it. Samhail retrieved his own blanket and threw it down next to hers.
“What in the three hells do you think you’re doing?” she asked as he lowered himself down and sidled up next to her.
“Getting ready to sleep,” he answered.
“Not right here you’re not,” she snapped, sitting up.
“You didn’t think I was letting you sleep anywhere but right next to me, did you?” he asked. “I need to be able to feel if you move, and I can’t do that from across the fire.”
“I promised I wouldn’t escape.”
“I know.”
“And you don’t trust my word?”
“No.”
Talyn huffed and tried to get up, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back down. She squeaked indignantly, but he spoke before she could utter a protest.
“You sleep right next to me, or you sleep in a cell beneath Tide’s End,” he said. “Your choice.”
Talyn glared at him, but he kept his expression hard.
He wasn’t particularly looking forward to sleeping this close to her, but he needed to be touching her while he was unconscious. He was a light sleeper by necessity, and he’d feel if she tried to move. Being this close to her after riding with her all day was going to be brutal, though.
Finally, she laid down and turned her back to him. He settled in behind her, and tried to press up close, but she elbowed him in the stomach, and he grunted.
“No touching,” she said. “I need my space when I sleep.”
“You’re going to be cold,” he argued. “We should take advantage of our combined body warmth.”
“No touching,” she repeated, and Samhail sighed heavily.
He turned over on his back to look up at the sky and wondered again what the fuck he’d been thinking. The woman was stubborn and infuriating, and he’d willingly agreed to spend the next few days traveling with her before they walked into a lion’s den.
He sensed Talyn shiver next to him, and the hint of a smile tugged at his lips. Let’s see just how stubborn she was willing to be.
He waited until she shivered again.
“Cold?” he asked.
She didn’t answer, and he turned over on his side, so he was facing her back. She only pulled the blanket up tighter around her.
When she shivered a third time a few minutes later, he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him.
A noise escaped her throat as if she’d been about to protest, but she cut it off.
Her blanket was between them, and he’d thrown part of his own over her, so she now had two blankets plus his own heat.
His body always ran warm, and he suspected that warmth had killed any objections she’d wanted to make.
Samhail felt the tension in Talyn’s body, but he was reassured to have her pressed against him now, and he closed his eyes to drift off.
Thankfully his dick was cooperating at the moment, so maybe he’d be able to get some sleep after all.
Tomorrow would be soon enough to once again let his fantasies torment him.